Mayor-elect David Martin is congratulated by his supporters during election night at the Democratic headquarters at the Stamford Mariott in Stamford, Conn., on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013.
Photo: Jason Rearick

The Land of Steady Habits lived up to its nickname on Election Day, with the number of cities and towns under Republican and Democratic control in Connecticut virtually unchanged despite victory declarations by both parties.

For those keeping score at home, the GOP's lead is now 94 municipalities to 69 for the Democrats, according to a Hearst Connecticut Newspapers analysis of election results from the Secretary of the State's Office and local town clerks. Unaffiliated and minor party officers are at the helm in Connecticut's six other municipalities.

Republicans entered Tuesday's local elections ahead 93-68, before seizing 14 communities from Democrats and surrendering 13. The GOP benefitted from pickups of the top offices in Ansonia, Westport, New Britain, Meriden and Bristol.

"We're very proud to have increased the number of Connecticut communities with Republican leaders," state GOP Chairman Jerry Labriola Jr. said Wednesday. "Yesterday, 14 towns voted to replace their Democrat administrations with common-sense Republican leadership, which speaks volumes about the strength of our candidates and our message as we begin to look toward 2014."

Democrats maintained their vice-like grip on the cities, flipping Stamford, Norwalk and Norwich to their victory column. Of the 10 most populous municipalities in the state, seven remain under the control of Democrats, who also picked up two towns previously led by third-party or unaffiliated candidates.

"Democrats did better than expected yesterday," said Jonathan Harris, executive director of the Connecticut Democrats. "We won in places we weren't supposed to win, and we held just about everything we already had. Credit goes first and foremost to the candidates, and the people who worked hard on their campaigns."

The state GOP weaved a narrative both leading up to and after Tuesday's municipal races that these elections were a mini-referendum on the economic leadership of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat in his first term. Connecticut was the only state whose gross domestic product shrank in 2012, a trend not lost on political handicappers at National Public Radio, which ranked Malloy as one the most vulnerable incumbents up for re-election next year.

Democrats, who enter 2014 not having lost a statewide race since 2006, say the results tell a different story.

"It's worth pointing out that, as they have done in every election since Gov. Malloy took office, the Republicans said they'd make significant gains at the governor's expense," Harris said. "Yet again, that didn't happen -- and the governor spent a lot of time helping a lot of these candidates who won. So give him some credit, too."